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Future of Fashion: Pt 4

The Future of 3-D Printed Fashion, One Synthetic Thread at a Time

Though this type of printing has been around for decades — aiding architects, engineers, and scientists with models and prototypes, mostly — its breadth has expanded as new technology has allowed for smaller machines, more flexible materials, and quicker, increasingly adaptable processes. Now almost any object imaginable — from functional organs, homes, skull replacements, to edible frosted cupcakes — can be pumped out of a machine, and fashion designers in particular are hoping, someday, for a modern and digital update to a centuries-old loom; perhaps it’s something like the MakerBot, a consumer version of a 3-D printer that can produce desk toys, dolls, garden gnomes (and, someday soon, maybe handguns), and was purchased by a competitor last month for more than $600 million.